"God, how the men were crushed!" Do you know this exclamation? Interestingly, is it really the male population that is getting lower, or does it just seem like that to the ladies who have grown up and climbed on their heels? We will talk about what a man of average height is and what exactly determines this indicator in the world and in our country in the article.
Height is an indicator of sexuality?
Men of average height, probably, with some envy look at tall and therefore such prominent friends. “Oh, I would like his height! I would conquer all the beauties!” - that's how they talk. And they are wrong.
In Switzerland, researchers have noticed that especially pronounced sexuality is inherent in men of medium height. Interestingly, the lower the representative of the stronger sex, the higher his libido.
More than 500 men between the ages of 20 and 54 took part in an experiment that found that everyone with a height of less than 170 cm proved to be strong,passionate and tender partners. By the way, the ladies noticed these qualities almost from the first minutes of their acquaintance.
Scientists explained this by the fact that a man of average height and below, as a rule, has complexes associated with this indicator, so he tries to prove himself, to establish himself in various areas, which, in particular, include sex.
A man's height is a guarantee of his success?
In our ancestors, the growth of a man was directly related to his he alth, strength and ability to feed and protect his family, so there is nothing surprising in the desire of modern ladies to see a tall man next to them. Primary instinct is to blame for this.
And modern tall men, by the way, have not only this advantage. It has been proven that they tend to have a higher average income and move up the career ladder more easily. Scientists attribute this to high self-esteem and leadership qualities in such people.
It would seem that the representatives of the stronger sex, who are large in all respects, should have a lot of children. But no! As Dutch scientists have found out, the most prolific is a man of average height. By the way, he gets married earlier and has his first child earlier. So, despite the love of beautiful ladies for tall partners, for some reason they start a family with a man of average height. You can't argue with statistics!
So how tall is an average man?
The growth of each of us depends on the combination of 180 genes and, of course, on the lifestyle of the mother who enduredchild. And then - and from a way of life of the person. Once upon a time, the average height of a European male was 160 cm, and our contemporaries stretched out to an average of 176 cm.
Over time, the concept of what the average height of a man in the world has changed a lot. Now only a teenager can fit into the knightly armor, which are stored in the museums of Rome. Since the height of these warriors did not exceed 167 cm.
Height of a European increased by 11 cm
What exactly affects the number of centimeters from the top of the head to the heels of each person? It is no secret to anyone that the data on the dependence of growth rates on race. Asians are short people. Their height averages 165 cm, while Europeans grow up to 178 cm.
But not only genetic heredity predetermines these parameters. In prosperous countries, people are higher than where the economy ekes out a miserable existence. After all, the quality of the food eaten, and their variety, and the absence of the need to work hard, along with developed he alth care, help a person become taller. Perhaps that is why, until recently, the average height of a man from America was the largest in the world.
According to the observations of researchers, the body length of the average man has increased by 11 cm since the end of the 19th century - from 167 cm to 178 cm.
War is no barrier to growth
But, by the way, despite the proven dependence of growth on living standards, it turned out that during the two world wars and the Great Depression experienced by mankind, the average body length of people continuedincrease. It would seem that growing poverty, lack of food and adversity should have affected the described indicator, but no, this did not happen. On the contrary, the man of average height was getting taller!
Scientists are trying to explain this phenomenon by the fact that people during such periods tried to have fewer children in the family, which means that the number of eaters decreased and the quality of food came to a relative norm, and the child grew up unhindered. Although, of course, such arguments do not look convincing. Since food during the war could hardly be brought back to normal. So this fact is still a mystery, by the way, as is the increase in the number of born boys before each war.
Perfect partner growth
But be that as it may, the average height of a European has increased significantly in recent years. In this regard, the perception of attractiveness has obviously changed as well.
Researchers from the Netherlands conducted a survey of 50,000 young men and women about their partner's ideal height and how satisfied they are with their height. It turned out that women seem especially attractive to men 20 cm taller than them, but the stronger sex will prefer a lady who is only 7.5 cm short of their height.
On average, according to the findings of scientists from the University of Groningen, the ideal (that is, desirable for most respondents) average height of a man and a woman in a pair is 190 cm and 175 cm. Yes, high height preferences!
Height difference between rich and poordecreased
Meticulous scientists from the UK have been trying for thirty years to determine the relationship between material well-being and the anatomical features of each person. Now they claim that in 300 years the average height of a man in the world has increased more than in the previous several thousand years. So, they emphasize, such a jump indicates a direct connection of this indicator with material well-being.
So, even 200 years ago, representatives of aristocratic families were taller than commoners. At the beginning of the century before last, for example, a 14-year-old teenager from the proletarians did not exceed 130 cm, and his peer from a we althy family was about 25 cm taller. Our contemporaries have a difference in the growth of the rich and the poor is 7 cm, which confirms the general increase in well-being and the level of medicine.
What the average growth says
The conclusion that it is the average population growth that is the most accurate indicator of the he alth of a nation is, of course, true, but genetics cannot be discounted. African countries can hardly be classified as economically prosperous, but at the same time, in the Masai, Tutsi and Nilotic tribes, men stretch up to 185 cm, or even up to 2 m, while pygmies do not grow above 150 cm.
True, in prosperous Holland, the average height of a man is 188 cm. Yes, and the fair sex of this country can hardly be called "thumbs" - they grow up to 177 cm. In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, these showed only a centimeter less.
How tall are Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian men
Full confirmation of the idea of a direct connection between the parameters of the average growth of a nation and its economic well-being is also noticeable among the representatives of the Slavs, who by the will of fate live today in different countries.
Thus, the growth of an average man, a resident of the USSR, in the 70s was 168 cm. And in the 80s, the male population grew by 3 cm.
At the beginning of the market reforms, the average Russian lived up to about 176 cm. The average height of a man in Ukraine is not very different from him - it is 175.3 cm.
In 1997 Belarusians were slightly lower. They grew up to 174 cm. But in 2008, according to the research of the anthropology department, 18-year-old boys were already 177 cm tall. Studies show that since 1925 this nation has grown by 15 cm, which, you see, is very good. True, such a process of rapid growth, once called acceleration, has already stopped. This is especially noticeable in urban residents, while in rural areas it is still ongoing.
The average height of men in Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, as well as in other countries, of course, closely depends on many indicators. By the way, it has been noticed that this can also be associated with the level of education of the mother. After all, it is she who organizes the diet and daily routine of her child, which cannot but affect whether the boy will subsequently be a tall enough man.
The average height of a man is a sign of what?
So, as you probably already understood, the average heightresidents of different countries and nations may vary. And the influence of many factors can contribute to this:
- genetics (thus, Asians are short nations, and Scandinavians have always been tall);
- well-being in the state (in successful Japan and China, countries originally inhabited by short people, growth has recently increased by almost 12 cm, and the average Japanese is now almost the same height as an American);
- important whether a particular person lives in a city or in a rural area;
- how a mother carried and raised a child;
- Does a person have chronic diseases, which, by the way, can affect growth, taking an average of up to 3 cm.
A man of average height in different countries can be both 165 cm and 184 cm in height, while being considered among fellow citizens as a typical representative of the stronger sex, especially not distinguished by this parameter.
